Swifts start slow, find pace in fourth

Nazareth couldn't collect any hits in the first three innings of the first game of a best-of-three Class 1A bidistrict series against Claude, but made up for it in the last four innings. The Swifts erupted for seven runs in the top of the fourth to take the lead for good and rolled to a 15-10 win to take a 1-0 series lead at Tascosa's Rebel Field.

"Our bats have been going lately, we've just been waiting until the fourth inning to get started," Nazareth coach Nathan Branum said. "That's the way it was today but we finally broke through."

Nazareth (5-6) also survived a sloppy game in the field, committing six errors.

Claude (8-6) scored two runs in the bottom of the first to get on the board and led 4-1 heading into the fourth. But the Swifts finally got untracked, scoring seven runs on only three hits.

"We have to make a few plays in the field and catch the ball behind the plate," Claude coach Matt Green said. "Passed balls and wild pitches killed us."

Despite the high score, both pitchers, Nazareth's Evan Murray and Claude's Devin Cornell, went the distance.

The series will resume Saturday with game two at 4 p.m. at Rebel Field.